Fantastic cymbal work, and I love the fantasy that there might be someone out there who hasn't actually heard Shania Twain. No clue why Ed thought that what was missing from Pearl Jam was other people's lyrics, though. He might as well have prefaced half the lines with the word mister. Also, it's kinda weirdly condescending, in a way that I can't pinpoint.

"Gone"--man, talk about a song where some nice verses are flattened by a dull, bombastic chorus. With the exception of "Amongst the Waves," the chorus to "Gone" might be the most melodically inept thing Eddie has ever put on a record.

It's from a song called "MFC" by Pearl Jam, same group that recorded "Gone." In fact, it's similar thematically, in that both songs deal with the concept of an automobile of some kind serving as an escape vessel from a bad circumstance. Psychologically, I've always found both of these songs somewhat deficient--though I get what the singer is trying to do, the sense of triumph he's trying to reflect, I've always struggled with the notion that what he's essentially advocating is running away from your problems, something which, as a student of psychology and believer in direct confrontation of one's issues, I can't endorse. I mean, it does make sense that if you're in a situation where staying or leaving means the difference between like, life or death, well yeah, I can understand why you'd pack up and just GTFO without really stopping to confront the issue directly. But the thing about "Gone" is that it seems like the guy goes from the edge of despair to front row at a Rockettes show within the span of, what, fifteen seconds? Just because he gets in a car and drives a couple miles? Seems a little on the nose to me, that "stark contrast" where the gloomy, ambient verses represent the dark cloud hovering over the singer and the triumphant, major-key chorus the moment where all is redeemed. I don't know--it just doesn't click with me. Life doesn't seem so abruptly bipolar. Unless you have bipolar disorder--which maybe this narrator is supposed to, I don't know, I didn't write the song. This "MFC" on the other hand--this song seems to have a much better handle on the notion of escape as a route to self-reinvention. The verses kind of start off with an idle, kind of like the rumble of a car sitting in a driveway while its driver is inside the house telling the person responsible for putting him in whatever bad situation he's trying to get out of that he's about to hop his ass in the wagon and GTFO, I don't know maybe he's calling her a no-good bitch or something, or if it's a girl getting mad at a guy maybe she's stabbing him in the eyes with her car keys, kind of like those self-defense pamphlets are always telling girls to do if a rapist or mugger or beggar approaches them in a parking lot. In any case, when he gets to the car, the drums kick in, and off he rides through town (that's like the next part of the verse), and then, bam, the chorus hits right as soon as he (or she) zooms off the exit ramp and on to the freeway, a whiz of kinetic energy that you can only truly feel if you're experiencing it empirically at the center of the hum of a genuine automobile engine, maybe one that's not entirely reliable, just to add drama, stakes, to the car's journey, to inject a little tension in regards to the potential success of this escape mission. Those downstrokes on singer Eddie Vedder's guitar are like jagged, repetitive head bangs--or rather, like affirmative nods, as in, Yes, absolutely I have just broken free from this terrible situation by choosing to just throw caution to the wind and GTFO of it, regardless of whether it was the right decision--this as opposed to "Gone," which seems to engage in this back and forth between "okay, it feels good to GTFO" and "well, maybe I really should have STFI"--the forward motion of the song just says, Okay, there's no going back now, even though the words are essentially saying "There's no leaving here." Wrong. There is PLENTY of leaving here. It's happening right now. In fact, the singer doesn't even realize how much it's happening--there's like a disconnect between what the narrator knows and what the audience knows, which is a literary circumstance known as "dramatic irony." The chorus to "MFC" is actually a very dramatically ironic chorus. It's also in the key of B flat. Or at least it features a B flat power chord. Jack Irons drums very well on it. He was Pearl Jam's drummer when they recorded this. He's not their drummer anymore. They talk about Pearl Jam's drummers on this message board all the time. I'm surprised you haven't heard it. You must be new here. Are you new here? My name's Kevin if you are. Nice to have you. Pretty soon the board moderator "stip" will probably write "welcome to the board " in this thread. stip is a nice guy. He likes the "Avocado" album pretty much better than anyone on this message board. He would probably be mad if he knew you tried to rearrange the track order on it.

"Gone"--man, talk about a song where some nice verses are flattened by a dull, bombastic chorus. With the exception of "Amongst the Waves," the chorus to "Gone" might be the most melodically inept thing Eddie has ever put on a record.

I think you could add 'Alive' to this list, technically. 'Gone' works for me emotionally, and I reckon that if 'Alive' hadn't, it could be subject to the same criticisms. That chorus, it ain't got no melody.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum